God will provide out of no way

This morning, I’m feeling quite overwhelmed (in a grateful way) about God’s love. As some of you know, I am a college student. A rising senior at that. Wow… even to say that out loud or type those words… is nothing but proof of God’s Grace.

This morning, I was doing my annual registry process for financial-aid to get enrolled for the upcoming school year. This is a time that I usually find myself frustrated, overwhelmed, and filled with worries. If I take you all back to my freshman year of college, where I began the financial-aid process for the first time, I’ll just say this, by natural circumstances, I should not be in college and should not be this far.

Financial-aid is ultimately determined by your parent’s incomes. Well, as some of you know, my father passed when I was 16 and that meant, my financial-aid was now ultimately dependent on my mothers income.

I thank God for allowing my mother and I to even get this far. That alone is a separate blog/story but it’s a story that has God’s hand-prints written all over it. To give you guys a little background information and illustration of God’s realness, I’ll say this: My mother doesn’t make enough to solely put me through college and we weren’t approved to get any loans.

I remember being at my grandmothers house about 1 week before I was supposed to leave for my freshman year of college. I had an outstanding balance that needed to be paid before I could get enrolled. I didn’t have that money anywhere and neither did my mom. I had no willing co-signers to help me get a loan either. In the natural avenue of looking at the situation, it looked like this: There’s  just no way she can go to college.

I had a lot of people in my ear saying things like: “Well just go to a community college, or maybe that’s just not God’s will for you to go. Maybe it’s just not your time.”

I remember going to a room by myself, turning off all the lights, and just crying. I cried my eyes out. All I had wanted was to be able to attend Clark-Atlanta University. This was the school in my spirit I knew I wanted to be at. In the midst of crying, God’s voice swept over my mind. “Padriana, don’t you know that wherever I destined for you to be, I will put you there? Don’t you know that I am bigger than finances?” In that moment, I actually felt ashamed. I was so ashamed. That I put so much power in the hands of the world rather than the One Creator of the world. I prayed to God in those moments in that dark room. I don’t remember my prayer exactly. But I remember it went something like, ” God, forgive me for not trusting You. Forgive me for doubting You. Lord, I want to go to Clark-Atlanta University, Lord if it is Your will, please make a way out of no way.”

About a day later, I logged into my schools website to check my enrollment status: it read,

“Congratulations, you’re enrolled for Fall 2014”

How? God.

I remember going to Atlanta And knowing no one. Not a single soul. Despite having no family in Atlanta or knowing anyone, somehow God made favor upon me with people I never knew. People right from the financial-aid office who now feel like family to me. People who simply heard my mothers voice on the phone of her pleading her case for her daughter and asking them, “What can I do?  My daughter is going to be somebody and I need her enrolled.” My mom’s prayers and my team of prayer warriors was essential.

 God put my mother on the phone with strangers who became family. Individuals who showed me compassion by not even knowing me. These individuals didn’t have to do what they did, but they walked with me.

If you get nothing out of this story, just get this; God will send you favor. He will send people your way that don’t even know you but He has spoken to them and whispered in their ear telling them to help you without you even knowing. God is bigger than finances. What’s big to you is nothing but a word to God. He commands the water to be still just by his voice. (Mark 4:39) Lifting his right hand has more power than money could ever be. (Psalm 89:13)  What God destined for you, no one or anything can stop it. God is bigger than your worries. What God did once, He will do again. How do I know? Because He did it for me. My freshman year, the year after that, the year after that, and I know He will do it again this year.

When God puts something deep in your spirit, He has a plan for you. I knew in my spirit I was meant to be at my college. Not just any school, but my school. I can honestly say, when I got to college is when I gained an authentic relationship with Christ. I started to know God for who He really was.  I’ve led souls to Him. I know when I’m walking on campus and when I cross paths with certain people, I know God predestined these days.

Don’t look at things in the natural glance. Look at them in the spiritual glance. The natural glance goes by what the world says. Naturally looking at things is what can be done by man and what can be done logically. God is supernatural. He doesn’t do what man can do. He does what man cannot do. I understand God has destined us all different paths. Not all of us are meant to go to college, not all of us are meant to have the same story. Going to college does not make you better than anyone and going to college won’t determine your fate. Don’t get lost in titles and positions.  However, just remember whatever path God does have for you, no one can ever get in the way of that. God loves you more than you could ever imagine. If you think you want your dreams, just imagine how much God wants you to have them and bring glory to His name.

Some people say, “Well I wanted this to happen and it didn’t” but before you say God didn’t do something for you, ask yourself, how was your faith? God can’t work with you when your faith is no where to be found. (Matthew 13:58) And another question to ask yourself, “How was your heart?” Was your heart in the right place? Jesus has his arms open to us. He’s waiting and His love is a love that doesn’t compare to what anything or anyone could ever give you.

Happy Friday. Love you all. Have Hope, Have God.

Jesus Christ Changed My Life because He can Do what I cannot do.